River Rea, Shropshire

The Rea near Nineveh

The River Rea is a small river that flows through south-eastern Shropshire, and passes just to the east of the small market town of Cleobury Mortimer, before entering northern Worcestershire and joining the River Teme at Newnham Bridge in the latter county. Its waters eventually reach the Bristol Channel, by way of the Teme and thence the Severn.

The river wises on the east side of Brown Clee Hill and from here the upper stretch of the river is known as the Rea Brook. After an eastward course from its source the river reaches Cleobury North and then Neenton, the first of the villages named after the river's alternative name. From Neenton it heads due south and swells form a brook to the River Rea.

South of Cleobury Mortimer the river turns southwest and from here and towards Neen Sollars it forms part of the Shropshire-Worcestershire border. Leaving its duties as a border-marker, the Rea briefly re-enters Shropshire to pas by Neen Sollars, then enters Worcestershire to meet the Teme below Newnham Bridge.

Names

The name of the river, 'Rea', derives from a root found in many Indo-European languages and means "to run" or "to flow". The name is found elsewhere in the British Isles in various forms and in that exact spelling is used by the River Rea in Warwickshire.

The historic or alternative name for the river is the River Neen and there are three villages along its course which take its name: Neen Sollars, Neenton and Neen Savage.

Outsode links

• Location map: 52°22’59"N, 2°28’19"W

References

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about River Rea, Shropshire)